DIGITAL
PRINTINGGRAPHIC ARTS TECHNOLOGY & EDUCATION

BYKIRAN P. PRAYAGI

Recently concluded DRUPA 2000 appears to have
given message that the ‘Digital Printing’ is
in for the majority of printed products and the
days of the other printing processes are
numbered. At least, this is what one gathers
while talking to the people who attended DRUPA
from India. The impression is even further
confirmed, especially from the vendors of such
equipments.

Therefore,
one needs to look at the whole scenario
objectively from a distance rather than getting
emotionally involved with this new technology.
Since anything that is printed straight from the
computer signal, i. e. without using the films
and the plates is called ‘Digital Printing’
and can be grouped into the following segments:

Right
from the dot matrix to ink-jet printers fall in
this category. As the usage of computers is
becoming more and more widespread the
requirements of this kind of printers is growing
at a phenomenal rate. These printers are now
even more affordable to anyone who can buy a
computer. In the printing industry the use is
made in practically every department, including
the initial concept and colour guide proofing.
As the desk-top publishing and designing on the
computers is on the rise, these printers are the
right choice for these applications. The normal
output size is A4, i. e. 210 mm X 297 mm
(8.27” X 11.69”). There is no competition to
this kind of digital printing from any of the
old analogue methods.

B.Graphic arts quality ‘contract proof’
printers

Graphic
arts ‘contract proofs’ means a proof is
taken as a proof and not a mere ‘guide’ as
opposed to ‘concept’ or a ‘guide’ proof.
The tone and colour matching is expected to be
very close to the final printing and serves as
proof for the customer OK, printing department
guide, etc. These printers are driven by the
special external RIPs that can be programmed for
tone, colours, etc. by the user according to the
final printing conditions. The success of these
printers depend on how good one can programme
these RIPs. Many of such printers are provided
with the ‘colour management’ profiles,
however the ready supplied profiles do not
satisfy the good quality customers and the
printers. These printers are normally in the
range of A4 – A3sizes, i. e. 210 mm X 297 mm – 297 mm X
420 mm (8.27” X 11.69” – 11.69” X
16.54”).

With
the digital pre-press on the rise installing
such printers make life easy, provided one has
the expertise to prepare own profiles or with
the help of a ‘colour consultant’ then it
provides the right answer. However, still there
is some competition, though on the decline, to
this kind of proofing by the ‘analogue’ film
proofing systems or flat-bed ink-on-paper
proofs. The high quality and closeness of the
press print is still the best by these methods.

C.Indoor display and exhibition printers

These
kind of printers are 36” to 60” in width
with practically no limitations on its length.
Since the purpose is for display only the
colours need not match to printed products as
long they look attractive and skin and product
colours match the real world. There is now a
tendency to use such printers for the ‘graphic
arts’ proofing or ‘signature’ proofing, i.
e. fully imposed forme proof or the newspaper
page proof. The colour match, in this case, to
the final print is essential. The ‘colour
calibration’ as outlined in B above also
applies here.

With
the growth of industry and commercialization the
industry needs to advertise more and more to
make sure its products and services get noticed.
Various kinds of exhibitions are now held in the
big cities where big displays are made to
attract the visitors. The same trend is also
seen at the airports, shop signs, etc.

At
present, the practical value and commercial
returns are limited to the metropolitan and
other developed cities, however there is always
a danger of overcapacity and a price war in any
place. The competition is against the
litho-offset and screen printing processes and
must be weighed with prices against the
quantity.

D.Signage and outdoor display printers

Any
printers over the width of 60” come under this
category and can go upto 22 feet and over with
no limitations on the length of the print. The
technology involved is more complex with single
side or both sides printing with the same image.
This gives the flexibility of using the same
prints for a day viewing or night viewing. The
‘colour calibration’ and consistency of the
prints is a prime factor to make sure the entire
print looks as ‘one’. Good expertise is
required to make sure the print looks right.
This includes tone, colour, lighting, as well as
framing and mounting.

These
kind of systems are practical only in the
metropolitan cities. Local municipality or the
state government rules must be watched
carefully, as in some cities these are now
banned because the city skylines are changed or
covered with such huge displays. Here again the
competition is against the litho-offset and
screen printing processes and must be weighed
with prices against the quantity.

E.High speed production printers

These
are the printers that can print at a high speed
(as compared to the four above) and produce
quick print, print on demand, limited editions,
or personalized print orders.

Basically,
there are two classes in these printers.
‘Process colours’ and ‘Single colour black
& white’.

1.Single colour black & white

Again
there are two types:a)
very high speed high cost, and high speed low to
medium cost.

Very
high speed high cost:These are the printers that can be used to print the high
volume personalized distribution such as
electricity and telephone bills addressed to
individual consumer. These will have market only
in certain application and geographical areas
and a very few takers.

High
speed low to medium cost:These
printers will find a big market in India in the
long run as it enables the small to medium
printers to adopt digital technology that is
affordable and will give return on investment.

2.Process colours

These
printers are the top end of the market with very
high investment. The advantage or returns are
when a customer is next door who expects a quick
delivery of printed products. If the
geographical locations are far away then this
advantage is lost.

The
products printed on such printers have a very
special market that must be developed, specially
to fill the capacity. The concept of producing
‘one copy’ of average print size is not
attractive enough at such a high cost. The
limited edition print again has to be weighed
against the latest developments in familiar
litho-offset technology like CIP3 concept.

Conventional
printing with application of electronics and
computers

One
must not overlook the advances taking place in
the conventional litho-offset process with
computerisation.

The
most notable among this is ‘CIP3’ concept.
CIP3 is ‘consortium of pre-press, press, and
post-press’.With this concept all these three areas
of operations are linked in a network and the
job data is transferred which sets the equipment
to fulfill the given task thereby cutting down
the make-ready and downtime avoiding the
material wastage.

I
have seen a job done this way on the
litho-offset printing machine producing only 100
copies with a special 5th colour and a much
higher quality level compared to digital
printing. The printing machine make-ready was
8-10 minutes. The other advantage is the
operators are still working with the familiar
technology using the same plates, inks, etc.

Though,
the digital printing has now shown the
capability of printing the packaging jobs, it is
unlikely that the existing printing methods will
be changed for such huge quantities of jobs for
process as well as special colours.